Time Out rating:
<strong>Rating: </strong>4/5
User ratings:
<strong>Rating: </strong>5/5
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Time Out says
Thu Oct 13 2011
Powder Keg Diplomacy is a bar and restaurant with a colonial theme so loyal that Cecil Rhodes would feel at home. But don’t worry: the owners didn’t occupy this Battersea site by force; the staff do get paid; and you won’t catch malaria if you stay too long.
Despite the portrait of Queen Victoria at the front door, the bar area isn’t overtly imperial – there’s wallpaper with prints of cavorting animals, lightbulbs in cages and studded leather seating. The restaurant at the back, in a Victorian-style wrought-iron conservatory, is where those ‘gin and tonic on the verandah’ fantasies come to life: the room’s original features are brought to the fore, pith helmets hang on the wall, potted plant fronds cast shadows by candlelight. It’s a very pleasant space, if a bit dark.
But the main reason PKD gets a high star rating is the incredible drinks list. There is no shortage of exciting new beer lists in London this year, but here’s one that would be a pleasure for any beer buff to work their way through. The nine draft pumps include the seasonal Meantime Pacific Pale Ale and two Dark Star brews; there are too many highlights by the bottle to mention them all, but try something from the innovative Bristol Beer Company or Lovibonds from Henley. And the colonies too get their turn with the likes of the rarely seen Little Creatures Bright Ale from Fremantle, Western Australia, and a couple from Odell’s in Colorado.
Cocktails are equally well considered (although it’s surely time to prohibit the word ‘libation’ from drinks menus). Cordials, syrups, liqueurs and mixers – including Kentish cherry-infused rye, nettle cordial and Ceylon tea vermouth – are own-made and used in mixed drinks that draw heavily on ingredients from every corner of the former Empire.
PKD is as much restaurant as bar, and the food we tried was also impressive. British ingredients are pressed into service in creative and attractive dishes such as pot roast pheasant with smoked bacon and cauliflower purée; or mackerel fillet with fennel cream, smoked mackerel paté and a shot of chilled beetroot soup.
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